PledgeCents
PledgeCents is a U.S. crowdfunding marketplace serving PreK-12 educators, schools, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and youth sports teams, enabling zero-platform-fee fundraising for classroom supplies, technology, and community programs with integrated EdTech vendor partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What PledgeCents does
PledgeCents is a U.S.-based crowdfunding platform purpose-built for PreK-12 educational and community needs. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Houston, Texas (Delaware-incorporated), the company enables educators, schools, nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, and youth sports teams to create fundraising pages for classroom supplies, technology, field trips, and other programmatic expenses without paying platform fees — users retain 97% of contributions with only a 3% payment-processing pass-through to Stripe and PayPal. The platform is differentiated by a flexible funding model (fundraisers keep proceeds even if goals are unmet), organization verification for accountability, and direct disbursement to institutions rather than individuals.
The core technology is a self-serve web application with PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant payment processing handled by Stripe, plus a Preferred Partner Program (launched Aug 2016) that functions as an EdTech marketplace with 70-80+ pre-integrated vendors including Best Buy Education, Newsela, Nearpod, Pear Deck, Rourke Educational Media, and CodeMonkey. Educators can launch pre-populated fundraising campaigns for specific EdTech subscriptions and hardware bundles, which PledgeCents purchases on their behalf upon successful fundraising. By May 2017 the platform reported 1,800+ schools across 250+ districts in all 50 states, $2M in cumulative GMV by 2018, and multi-year GTM partnerships with Teach For America ($265K raised by corps members in summer 2018) and Spring Branch Education Foundation ($235K raised across 80 causes with 1,656 donors).
The business model is a transaction-fee marketplace: PledgeCents generates revenue exclusively through the 3% payment-processing margin on transactions, with no platform fees, subscriptions, or contracts. Distribution is primarily self-serve PLG complemented by community-led growth (educator referral programs, #TeachersAreProfessionals movement), event-driven activation (ISTE conferences, #GivingTuesday campaigns), and channel partnerships. The company employs 1-10 people, has raised only $30,000 in disclosed funding (Tech Wildcatters, 2014), and operates as a private, independent social enterprise.
PledgeCents firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PledgeCents
- Legal name
- PledgeCents, Inc.
- Website
- https://pledgecents.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- PledgeCents is a U.S. crowdfunding marketplace serving PreK-12 educators, schools, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and youth sports teams, enabling zero-platform-fee fundraising for classroom supplies, technology, and community programs with integrated EdTech vendor partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PledgeCents industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Educational Crowdfunding Platform
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based) (MPACAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments (MPACAFAB)
Keywords
Where PledgeCents is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
PledgeCents business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Payment Processing Fee: Platform charges 3% for payment processing while maintaining 0% platform fees. Users receive 97% of funds raised. This is the primary revenue stream enabling the platform to operate while keeping fundraising free for users.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Free Fundraising Platform |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels10 records
PledgeCents product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PledgeCents operates a crowdfunding platform that enables K-12 educators, schools, and community organizations to raise funds with 0% platform fees, charging only a 3% payment processing fee. It also runs an EdTech Marketplace that aggregates 70+ EdTech company subscriptions, allowing donors to fund specific classroom software, tools, and resources for teachers and students.
Product overview
PledgeCents is a crowdfunding platform for PreK-12 education and community needs, built around two core offerings: the PledgeCents Crowdfunding Platform (which charges 0% platform fees and enables any user to create a fundraiser for schools, nonprofits, faith groups, or youth sports teams) and the EdTech Marketplace (also called the Preferred Partner Program), which provides pre-populated fundraising pages for over 60 EdTech tools and resources — including Nearpod, Newsela, Rourke Educational Media, and Best Buy Education — enabling educators to raise funds for technology subscriptions that PledgeCents then purchases on their behalf. Together, these products allow the platform to address the $1.6 billion teachers spend out-of-pocket annually on classroom needs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PledgeCents Crowdfunding Platform A zero-platform-fee crowdfunding platform that lets K-12 teachers, schools, and community organizations raise funds for classroom needs, school programs, and community causes with a 3% payment processing fee.
- EdTech Marketplace (Preferred Partner Program) A marketplace aggregating 70+ EdTech company subscriptions that enables donors to fund specific classroom software, tools, and resources through the PledgeCents platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Teachers keep 97% of funds raised (vs losing 5-15% to platform fees on other sites)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use PledgeCents
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
PledgeCents technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
PledgeCents partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Rourke Educational MediacorePartnership enables librarians and parents to purchase Rourke's print and e-books (science, social studies, early literacy, high interest books) through the marketplace. Rourke matches amounts after minimum $400 raised.
- NewselacorePartnership allows teachers to fund Newsela PRO subscriptions (with 6,000+ articles from 40+ content providers like National Geographic, Washington Post) through the PledgeCents Marketplace. Newsela provides instructional content platform with articles at 5 reading levels.
- Best Buy EducationcorePartnership enables teachers and schools to access Best Buy technology bundles including Google Expedition Kits through PledgeCents fundraising pages. Best Buy provides educational products, support and protection for 21st century learners. Teachers can fund specialty hardware bundles and exclusive Best Buy Education products at discounted prices.
- KIPPminorEducation organization featured as partner in the marketplace ecosystem, collaborating to support educational opportunities.
- Teach For AmericacoreMulti-year partnership (3rd year in 2018). TFA corps members actively use PledgeCents to raise funds for classroom needs, with over $265,000 raised during summer 2018.
- 100K In 10minorEducation organization partner in the marketplace ecosystem.
- VistaprintminorEarly partner that donated business cards and t-shirts for ISTE conference. Provided promotional support for educator outreach.
- NearpodcoreAward-winning EdTech company with digital learning tools, virtual reality and interactive content across mobile devices. Featured in Preferred Partner Program.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
PledgeCents competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DonorsChoose: DonorsChoose is the largest and best-known crowdfunding platform specifically for K-12 classroom needs. PledgeCents explicitly markets against it (15% DonorsChoose fee vs. 0% PledgeCents), making it the most directly comparable direct competitor.
- AdoptAClassroom: AdoptAClassroom is a nonprofit that provides funding directly to teachers for classroom supplies and resources. It targets the same K-12 educator persona and crowding-out-of-pocket-spending problem that PledgeCents addresses.
- Classy (by Bonterra): Classy is a leading fundraising platform built for nonprofits, offering donation forms, peer-to-peer campaigns, and event management. PledgeCents serves nonprofit and education causes with overlapping functionality, though Classy focuses on established 501(c)(3) organizations.
- Givebutter: Givebutter is a modern fundraising platform for nonprofits with a zero platform-fee model similar to PledgeCents. It offers donation pages, events, and peer-to-peer campaigns, directly mirroring PledgeCents' free-to-fundraisers positioning.
- GiveCampus: GiveCampus is a fundraising and crowdfunding platform specifically serving schools and educational institutions. It targets similar education giving use cases as PledgeCents, though primarily in higher education and alumni fundraising.
- Fundly: Fundly is a crowdfunding platform used by nonprofits, schools, sports teams, and community causes for peer-to-peer fundraising. It serves overlapping customer segments and use cases as PledgeCents (school teams, community causes, education).
- GiveSendGo: GiveSendGo is a free-to-use crowdfunding platform used heavily by faith-based and community organizations, mirroring PledgeCents' faith-based and nonprofit verticals. It overlaps significantly on the community/faith fundraising use cases PledgeCents expanded into.
Broad incumbents
- GoFundMe: GoFundMe is the dominant general-purpose crowdfunding platform and charges 5% platform fees versus PledgeCents' 0%. It serves a much broader set of causes but is frequently used by teachers as an alternative fundraising channel, creating direct substitution risk.
- Bonterra (Network for Good): Bonterra is a broad social-good software suite encompassing CRM, fundraising, and grantmaking tools for nonprofits. Network for Good is its consumer-facing donation platform serving some of the same charitable fundraising use cases as PledgeCents.
Emerging players
- Piggybackr: Piggybackr is a crowdfunding platform focused on youth and school fundraising including sports teams and student organizations. It targets some of PledgeCents' secondary customer segments (youth sports, student organizations).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PledgeCents social profiles
Digital presencePledgeCents compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
PledgeCents financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PledgeCents leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
PledgeCents funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PledgeCents M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PledgeCents
What does PledgeCents do?
PledgeCents operates a crowdfunding platform that enables K-12 educators, schools, and community organizations to raise funds with 0% platform fees, charging only a 3% payment processing fee. It also runs an EdTech Marketplace that aggregates 70+ EdTech company subscriptions, allowing donors to fund specific classroom software, tools, and resources for teachers and students.
Is PledgeCents a public or private company?
PledgeCents is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was PledgeCents founded?
PledgeCents was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is PledgeCents based?
PledgeCents is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does PledgeCents make money?
One revenue line is on record: payment Processing Fee.
Who are PledgeCents's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DonorsChoose, AdoptAClassroom, Classy (by Bonterra), Givebutter, GiveCampus, Fundly and GiveSendGo. Broad incumbents are GoFundMe and Bonterra (Network for Good). Piggybackr is listed as an emerging player.
Does PledgeCents have an API?
No public API is recorded for PledgeCents.
What industry is PledgeCents in?
PledgeCents's product category is Educational Crowdfunding Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAFAJ, Creator Fundraising & Crowdfunding Platforms (Recurring/Project-Based), with a secondary code of MPACAFAB, Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.